Presidential elections were held in Ivory Coast in 2010. The first round was held on 31 October, and a second round, in which President Laurent Gbagbo faced opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, was held on 28 November 2010. Originally scheduled to be held in 2005, the vote was delayed several times due to the Ivorian Civil War and difficulties involved in the organization and preparation of the elections. A peace agreement between the government and the former rebel New Forces was signed on 4 March 2007,"Ivorian president vows to hold elections as scheduled", Xinhua (People's Daily), 10 July 2007. and in late April 2009, it was announced that the elections would be held by 6 December 2009, and that the date would be announced shortly. On 15 May 2009, the date was announced to be 29 November 2009. On 11 November, the elections were postponed again due to delays in the electoral roll. It was announced on 3 December 2009 to be held in late February or early March 2010.

The elections, in which ethnicity and the country's north–south divide played a crucial role, ultimately pitted President Gbagbo, who had a strong support base in the south, against the long-time opposition leader and former Prime Minister Ouattara, who had overwhelming support in much of the north. The events leading up to the second round and following it were characterized by serious tension and some incidents of violence, and the preliminary report of the Carter Center "cautions against a rush to judgment regarding the overall credibility of the election", but most observers considered that the overall result was not compromised, and that the elections were essentially free and fair. On 2 December 2010, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) released provisional results showing that Ouattara had won the elections in the second round with 54% of the vote. However, the President of the Constitutional Council (CC) immediately declared that the results were invalidChristophe Koffi, , AFP, 2 December 2010. and the next day, in accordance with article 94 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Council declared Gbagbo the winner. Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claimed victory and took the presidential oath of office. The ensuing events led to the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis.

The international community, including the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union, the United States, and former colonial power France have affirmed their support for Ouattara, who is "almost universally acknowledged to have defeated [Gbagbo] at the ballot box," and have called for Gbagbo to step down, despite the fact that the body charged by the Constitution with determining electoral disputes had declared Gbagbo to be the winner. On 18 December, Gbagbo ordered all UN peacekeepers to leave the country. However, the UN has refused, and the Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN Mission in Ivory Coast until 30 June 2011. International powers have been in talks to enlarge the UN force in the Ivory Coast. The World Bank has halted loans to the country and travel restrictions have been placed on Gbagbo and his political allies. The rising political tensions resulted in a sharp jump in cocoa prices, up to an increase of 10 percent, since the Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of the crop.

After fighting the Second Ivorian Civil War, Gbagbo was forcefully removed from office and Ouattara took office as the undisputed president on 11 April 2011. Afterward, Gbagbo was indicted and arrested by the International Criminal Court.

Background

Date Following the March 2007 agreement with the New Forces, the election was planned to be held in the first quarter of 2008. On 6 August 2007, President Laurent Gbagbo said it would be possible, with goodwill and determination, to hold the election as early as December 2007.Associated Press, (6 August 2007). "Ivory Coast to hold elections by end of 2007, president says", International Herald Tribune."Côte d'Ivoire: Observers, opposition wary of Gbagbo’s rush to elections", IRIN, 7 August 2007. This was greeted with widespread skepticism by observers and the opposition, who said that the preparations for elections would be incomplete at such an early stage.

It was announced on 12 September 2007 that the process of voter identification and registration would begin on 25 September,"Abidjan polls likely in 2008 - electoral body", AFP (IOL), 14 September 2007. and if it went well it was expected to be completed by the end of 2007."Cote d'Ivoire likely to hold elections in October 2008", Xinhua (People's Daily), 14 September 2007. On 13 September, the President of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), Robert Mambé, said that the presidential election should be held, "at the latest", ten months after the end of the identification process, around October 2008, and that the parliamentary election should be held 45 days after the presidential election. On 18 September, Gbagbo again expressed his desire to see the elections held quickly and said that he was opposed to the "remote dates" being suggested."Ivorian leader calls for early elections", African Press Agency, 19 September 2007.

On 27 November 2007, Gbagbo and Guillaume Soro reached an agreement in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, that the election would be held by the end of June 2008; the electoral commission was to propose the specific date of the election."Ivorian leaders pledge polls in 2008", AFP (IOL), 27 November 2007. Gbagbo reiterated on 19 December that the election would be held no later than the end of June 2008, and he said that he would visit all the regions held by the New Forces by March 2008 and would then make a report to the Constitutional Council, which would in turn approve the holding of the election., Panapress (afriquenligne.fr), 20 December 2007 .

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner said on 27 January 2008 that the election might be delayed slightly past the end of June deadline due to technical requirements, particularly the need to update voter lists."Kouchner : la présidentielle en Côte d'Ivoire "peut-être retardée" un peu", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 27 January 2008 .

By March 2008, the common view among observers was that it would be impossible to hold the election as early as June. Although no leading political figures had yet expressed that view, in March Gbagbo referred to the importance of considering actual conditions and said that it would not mean "death" if the election was not held in June.

On 14 April, Government Spokesman Amadou Koné announced that the presidential election would be held on 30 November 2008, thus delaying it by five months. According to Koné, the date was chosen by the CEI, which had presented a report to the government. Koné said that the parliamentary election would be held on a different date."Côte d'Ivoire: le premier tour de la présidentielle fixé au 30 novembre", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 14 April 2008 . Gbagbo expressed enthusiasm on the occasion, describing it as "a great day for Côte d'Ivoire". According to Soro's spokesman Sindou Méité, a "broad consensus" had been reached by Soro and other leading political figures regarding the date. The PDCI and RDR welcomed the announcement of a date, although they remained cautious; the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire also welcomed it. On the same day, Gbagbo signed a decree outlining the terms of cooperation between the National Institute of Statistics and the French company Sagem, the latter of which is tasked with surveying the population so that voter lists can be updated and new voter cards can be created."La Côte d'Ivoire, sous pression, fixe enfin une date pour la présidentielle", AFP (Jeuneafrique.com), 15 April 2008 .

By the first half of September 2008, there was widespread speculation that the election could be again delayed to early 2009."Ivorian opposition leader to present election programme on 4 October", African Press Agency, 11 September 2008. Gbagbo said in mid-September that a delay to 15 December would be needed unless the period allowed for challenges to the electoral register was truncated;"Critical census to be held before November elections" , AFP (France24.com), 15 September 2008."Simone Gbagbo achève deux semaines de tournée dans le fief de l’ex-rébellion ivoirienne", African Press Agency, 14 September 2008 . however, CEI President Robert Mambé said on 18 September that such a delay was "out of the question" for the time being, noting that the CEI considered meeting the 30 November date to be "a moral obligation"."ICoast election committee refuses to delay key vote" , AFP, 19 September 2008.

At a New Forces meeting on 11 October, the group recommended that the election be postponed to 2009, citing concerns about security and inadequate progress in identity card distribution."Former Ivory Coast rebels 'recommend' postponement of presidential poll" , AFP, 11 October 2008. Speaking on 29 October, Prime Minister Soro suggested the possibility of a delay, saying that the CEI had been asked "to work out a reliable time-frame to give us an idea of a probable definitive date for the election"."Ivory Coast ex-rebel PM backs presidential poll delay" , AFP, 29 October 2008.

On 7 November, the UN Security Council called for the election to be held by mid-2009 at the latest. At a meeting of the Ivorian political parties in Ouagadougou on 10 November 2008, it was decided, as expected, that the 30 November date could not be met and a delay was necessary. The three main candidates—President Gbagbo, Alassane Ouattara, and Henri Konan Bédié—attended the meeting, as did Prime Minister Soro. A new date for the election was not announced, and the parties asked the CEI to submit an updated timetable no later than 31 December. Blaise Compaoré, the President of Burkina Faso, said that the progress of voter registration had to be considered in setting any new date, while expressing his hope that registration would be finished before 1 January 2009. Ouattara said that a date should only be set when "good visibility" existed, while Bédié said that they had "put the cart before the horse" and that a new date should not be set until it was clear that the identification process was successful."New delay in Ivory Coast presidential elections" , AFP, 10 November 2008.

In early 2009, Innocent Anaky, the President of the Movement of the Forces of the Future (MFA), said that he did not believe that the election would actually be held in 2009."Cote d'Ivoire: Report claims presidential election for 2009 doubtful", L'Inter website, Abidjan (nl.newsbank.com), 7 February 2009.

Soro announced on 14 May 2009, that the election would be held on 29 November 2009. In a statement on 15 May, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on "all Ivorian parties to respect this date and to work together to complete the remaining tasks related to the electoral process.""Ivorian election date must be respected - UN", Reuters (IOL), 16 May 2009.

The first round of the election had been delayed six times in the previous five years.Ivory Coast holds long-delayed 'reconciliation' poll BBC News, 31 October 2010

Voter identification and registration